Capitol Digest
provides an inside look at what happened in state politics this week.
These quick reports offer insight into campaigns, committee meetings and
other goings-on and give an overview of the coming week's events.

Got three minutes and want to know what happened during the first week of the 2014 legislative session? Click here.

JINDAL DRAWS HUGE LAUGHS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

From the first line of his speech to the Wild Irish Breakfast in Nashua, New Hampshire on Friday (March 14) morning, Gov. Bobby Jindal has the crowd in stitches.

"I would like to start this morning by congratulating the genius who invited me to speak at a St. Patty's day event," Jindal, an Indian-American, said to raucous laughter. "Let me suggest that a quick Google image search would reveal that I'm not Irish. Worse than that I don't even drink. I am Catholic so we'll hope that counts for something."

Jindal continued to draw big laughs from the assembled crowd of businesspeople, policymakers and local politicians, joking about former Gov. Edwin Edwards, Louisianians' penchant for hunting and even rumors of his intention to run for the White House in 2016.

"A lot of people are asking me if I intend to run for president in 2016. The answer is I have no plans at this time to run. I've made that clear. And I will come here again and again to the state of New Hampshire to say that over and over," said Jindal.

On the 86-year-old Edwards, who sources say will announce a fifth run for Congress on Monday, Jindal scored with recycling an old EWE turn-of-phrase referring to the four-time governor and former federal inmate's 34 year old wife, "You're only as young as the woman you feel."

"My wife didn't feel that was funny," said Jindal, referring to his spouse Supriya.

In reference to a local scandal where state Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, was fined after running over several ducks in the parking lot of a Crowne Plaza Hotel, Jindal said: "You know, back home in Louisiana we would just call that dinner."

Jindal later spoke to the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua. Clips of Jindal's speech, courtesy of The Nashua Telegraph's YouTube channel, can be seen here.

MOVEON.ORG MOCKS JINDAL AT NH EVENTS

As Jindal was getting big laughs at local events in Nashua, New Hampshire on Friday, opponents of his decision to decline Medicaid expansion allowed under the federal health care law wanted to put him on edge.

MoveOn.org, a national liberal policy organization, hired a plane to fly over the city with a banner exclaiming, "JINDAL Stop denying 242K Louisianians health insurance." MoveOn.org demonstrators were also on the ground.

The organization is currently at loggerheads with the Jindal administration over their use of Louisiana's state tourism slogan and images on a billboard outside Baton Rouge. The billboard also blasts Jindal for not accepting Medicaid expansion.

On Friday, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, whose office came up with the slogan, sued MoveOn.org in federal court to force the organization to remove the billboard as well as several YouTube ads employing from the web.

MITCH LANDRIEU AHEAD, CASSIDY-LANDRIEU DEAD HEAT IN LATEST POLL

The latest Louisiana polling data had good news for one Landrieu, but not the other.

However, the news wasn't so good for Mary Landrieu, Mitch's sister who is vying to keep her U.S. Senate seat safe from a challenge by U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge. The poll had Landrieu and Cassidy neck-and-neck, at 45 and 44 percent respectively.

The poll also showed incumbent Attorney General Buddy Caldwell leading challenger former U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry by eight points. But both trailed a "generic," unnamed Democratic candidate, who had the support of 33 percent of those polled.

Of those surveyed, 57 percent disapproved of the Affordable Care Act. The poll also asked respondents to give their opinions on number of other health care issues. Reached for comment Friday, PRC President Dan Kessler said the survey was not done out of his office and he did not know if any one candidate commissioned the poll.

LaPolitics.com reported the poll was carried out for the Louisiana State Medical Society and PhRMA. The poll surveyed 600 Louisianians between Feb. 20 and 25, 2014. The margin of error was +/- 4 percent.

PSC TO STUDY SOLAR COSTS/BENEFITS

State utilities regulators voted Wednesday (March 12) to study the costs and benefits of Louisiana's current solar energy programs. The decision was a coup for clean energy advocates, who have been calling for an in-depth look at the state's industry as compared to the regional and national average.

But five-man Public Service Commission (PSC) also decided to pass on forcing three energy cooperatives, one based in St. Tammany, to re-start net metering services to their customers. Instead, the PSC voted to pass the issue onto an administrative law judge, who will issue a ruling in June.

Under the current net metering rules in Louisiana, energy co-ops can cut off solar service to any new customers when a certain threshold is met. Energy access advocates want to change state rules to mandate these companies must first get approval from the PSC before turning away new applications.

The issue has been on the docket for nearly a year, with PSC members disagreeing, and then delaying, discussion on net metering every month.

TREASURER LAUDS BILL TO CUT STATE CONTRACTS

State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy thanked The Alexandria Advertiser for an editorial it ran this week in support of a bill filed by state Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard's, No Party-Thibodaux, to cut state contracts by 10 percent.

The effort is an annual issue for Kennedy, who in the past has railed against what he considers unnecessary and costly state contracts.

In the op-ed, The Advertizer criticized state contracts to provide Spanish PSAs pushing the use of seat belts, a study to ensure K-12 students are learning "valuable social skills" during lunch and recess and nearly $900,000 for consultant services to "provide assistance to disadvantaged business enterprise companies doing business with DOTD."

"I believe the bill is important to our state, because the carnage in higher education must end," Kennedy said in an email. "The formula for a better Louisiana is simple: real jobs for adults and a good education for our children. We can't have one without the other."

Legislative committee meetings for the week of March 17 can be found here.

Saturday, March 15 from noon to 3:00 p.m. -- Southern University Law Center will host HER Forum, a networking and community awareness event for women. State Sen. Sharon Weston-Broome, D-Baton Rouge, is among the speakers. (2 Roosevelt Steptoe Drive, Baton Rouge)

Monday, March 17 at 9:00 a.m. -- The second week of the 2014 legislative session will open at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge.

Monday, March 17 at 11:30 a.m. -- Former Gov. Edwin Edwards
will address the Press Club of
Baton Rouge on his future plans in politics. Lunch is
$12 for members
and $15
for nonmembers. (Iberville Room, Belle of Baton Rouge, 102 France St.,
Baton Rouge)

Wednesday, March 19 at 5:30 p.m. -- The Junior League of Baton Rouge will host "Trafficking Hope: A Film Screening and Discussion Panel" on the subject of human trafficking. The issue sits atop Jindal's legislative agenda this year. (Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, located at 3113 Valley Creek Drive, Baton Rouge)